


Blame It On The Alcohol

by Hairofgoldeyesofblue



Series: Under the Influence [1]
Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Drinking, F/M, First Kiss, Pre-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-16
Updated: 2014-07-16
Packaged: 2018-02-09 04:05:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,162
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1968369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hairofgoldeyesofblue/pseuds/Hairofgoldeyesofblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Mackenzie had had a horrible week, so when Rachel, one of the other senior producers, suggested drinks at the little dive bar on the next block over, she enthusiastically agreed."</p><p>Pre-series. Set about two weeks into her career as a senior producer at News Night. Sort of a prequel to 'You and Tequila.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blame It On The Alcohol

**Author's Note:**

> In my fic, 'You and Tequila,' I made a reference to Mackenzie and Will's first kiss. After I posted that one, I got inspired to write that fic, so, here it is.

Mackenzie had had a horrible week. It started off when she had botched a pre-interview, and it escalated from there when Brian dumped her – again, but this time she was _pretty sure_ it was final – and ended with blowing a fact check. So when Rachel, one of the other senior producers, suggested drinks at the little dive bar on the next block over, Mackenzie enthusiastically agreed.

By 9:15, Mackenzie was halfway through her first Long Island Iced Tea. Some of the other staffers had filtered over from AWM and one of the associate producers bought another round and offered to teach Mackenzie how to play pool.

“He _likes_ you,” Rachel hissed in her ear while they waited for him to rack up the balls. “He _told_ me.”

Mackenzie studied the guy in question. Adam was cute, she thought, a little young maybe, and more like a kid brother, but if he was volunteering to buy her drinks after the week she’d had, she wouldn’t say no to that. He called her over and helped her position the cue in her hand before she leaned over the table to take a shot. She was almost _certain_ his eyes were on her ass and suddenly wished she maybe hadn’t worn _this particular_ pair of pants today.

On her first attempt, she missed the ball completely. Giggling at her own blunder, Mackenzie looked over at Adam and bit her lip sheepishly. Taking the hint, he set his beer down on the edge of the table and moved behind her to help adjust her aim. She could feel his warm breath on the side of her neck and his fingers dance lightly along her hip.

It was a nice change being out without Brian, she thought as she started on another drink. Adam had been blatantly flirting with her all night, and it was a nice change feeling wanted; she couldn’t remember the last time Brian had treated her like that. But then again, Adam _was_ awfully young; he was still in his twenties, and she was on the other side of thirty now. And as much as Rachel was trying to push her to use him as a rebound, Mackenzie wasn’t completely sold. No, if she was honest, there was only one guy that had caught her eye since she had started at _News Night_ and things with Brian had gone sour (he hated ACN), and that was Will McAvoy.

Will was Brian’s polar opposite. He was mature and ambitious. The first time she’d gotten into a heated debate with him over a story, she’d been hooked. It wasn’t the kind of arguing she was used to; it was passionate and intelligent and sexy and fun. Will’s soft blue eyes were an attractive contrast to Brian’s plain brown ones. Not to mention she had never been more turned on than when she saw him in his suit and tie every night during the broadcast. (Apparently she had a thing for put-together men all of a sudden?!) She’d only known Will for a couple weeks now, but she thought it was a safe enough assumption to say that she and Will were friends – or at least friendly.

Other ACN staffers filtered in, and Adam appeared to have his eye on some petite blonde girl from the ten o’clock hour. Rachel shot him several dirty looks, but Mackenzie couldn’t bring herself to be too upset over the whole thing. (The tequila shots she had switched to around 10:30 _may_ have contributed to her current feelings of indifference.)

That was how she found herself dancing on top of the bar to some absurd Black Eyed Peas song, grinding up against Rachel, when she happened to look down and noticed Will had just walked in the door. She saw that he had changed into a pair of jeans and a blue and white striped button down shirt with the cuffs rolls up. Even from across the bar and in her current state, she could see that the shirt was making his eyes look even bluer than normal. He was staring transfixed up at her as her body continued to move to the music while her intoxicated brain took its time to catch up. The next thing Mackenzie knew, Will was making his way over to her.

“ _Will_!” – she swore under her breath – “ _Hi_!”

“Hi, Mac…” Will said, raising his eyebrows in amusement. “How are you doing?”

“Uh, I’m fi – I’m good.”

Mackenzie seemed to realize then that she was still awkwardly standing on top of the bar. She moved to get down and Will quickly reached up to help. When her feet landed on the floor, she stumbled and he caught her by the waist to steady her.

“Thanks,” she mumbled. “What are you doing here?”

He laughed. “I heard there was a party going on down the street, so I decided to stop by.”

“Oh, um… Yeah.” She squinted up at him and blushed, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. “We started pretty early I guess.”

Will studied the way her pupils had blown and how she was swaying slightly where she was standing. “How much have you had anyway?”

She shrugged and gave him a lazy grin. “Do you want to try and catch up?”

“O-kay,” Will said decisively, “I think it’s time to get you home.”

Mackenzie stuck her bottom lip out in a stubborn pout. “ _Why_?”

“Because,” Will said while motioning to the bartender with one hand so he could pay out her tab, “it’s getting late, and I think you’ve had too much to drink.”

She made a disgruntled face. “You can’t tell me what to do, Will!.. And I can pay for myself, you know.”

Patiently, he handed over more than enough cash. “I have no doubts that you can handle yourself, and I certainly don’t intend to try and control you – especially after how that ex of yours treated you. Can you do me a favor though, and let me make sure you get home safe?”

Mackenzie stared at him in surprise. She could feel herself starting to sober up just because of the way he was looking at her with such honesty and caring. She nodded dumbly.

He helped her find her purse and her high heels, which had come off at some point – probably around the time the dancing began – and then she clutched onto his arm tightly so he could help her outside.

Mackenzie leaned into him heavily while Will hailed a cab. She caught a whiff of his wonderful, masculine scent; something peppery and smoky that was pure _Will_. Her first thought was that he smelled better than Brian (or Adam for that matter). They slid into the cab and he gingerly put an arm around her shoulders after she settled comfortably against his side.

The cab ride to her apartment was mostly silent after Mackenzie gave the driver her address. It took her awhile to notice that Will was absentmindedly stroking the bone of her shoulder with the tip of his fingers. She reached over and took his free hand, playing with his long fingers and tracing idle patterns on his wrist and callused palms. He twitched when she found a ticklish spot and gently tugged the end of a lock of hair in retaliation. She wrinkled her nose and tilted her head back so it rested against his arm.

“How’re you feeling?” he asked her.

“ _Good_ ,” she responded sweetly with a smile that was still just a little too wide to be sober. “Thank you for all this.”

“Well,” he said as the cab slowed to a stop outside her building, “I wasn’t about to leave you there like that.”

Will paid the driver and helped Mackenzie out onto the sidewalk. She reached for him again for balance and he slid an arm around her waist. She stared up at him for a minute in contemplation.

“You know, Will, you’re a _nice_ guy,” she said seriously, making him snort.

“You say that like you’re surprised.”

She shrugged halfheartedly. “I was with a guy for a long time who wasn’t very nice. He never would’ve made sure I got home safe tonight. He probably would’ve let me keep drinking until I blacked out, actually. But you cut me off. You actually _cared._ ” – she paused for a few seconds as realization washed over her – “You _care_ about me?”

“Of course I _care_ , Mackenzie. And you’re better off without your ex. He sounds like an asshole.”

“I, um…” She chewed her lip, trying and failing to think of something coherent to say. “Why?”

“Why do I care? Why wouldn’t I? Mackenzie, you’re spectacular.”

That word – “spectacular” – that was what did Mackenzie in. It was such an unusual word to use, really. It didn’t just slide off your tongue when you said it. The word took effort; as if he really meant it. She gaped at him for a moment before boldly leaning up and giving him a hard kiss.

She could feel that Will was hesitant at first – no doubt wondering if it was purely the alcohol driving her actions – but then she felt him give in to it. He reached up to slow her down before she could thrust her tongue into his mouth, gently cupping the sides of her face with his large hands and holding her in place. He kissed and teased her, tugging her bottom lip between his teeth with a tenderness that she wasn’t sure she’d ever felt before. It was overwhelming, and with alcohol still running through her veins, her knees unexpectedly buckled. Will caught her mid-wobble and he pulled her close, settling his hands on her hips. Mackenzie gratefully mumbled something that sounded like “thanks” against his mouth and slid her hands up his chest to loop her arms around the back of his neck.

When they finally broke apart, Mackenzie smiled up at him shyly. “ _You care_.”

“I care,” he affirmed, gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.

“I just thought you thought I had nice legs.”

“Well, that too.”

She bit her now plump, freshly kissed lip and studied him for a minute before saying, “Do you want to come inside?”

He shook his head and gave a little laugh. “Not tonight.” – he quickly backtracked to wipe the rejected look off her face – “Some other time when I don’t have to worry about if it’s the tequila talking. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

Even though Mackenzie was pouting, she knew he was right. “Alright. Well, I guess I’ll see you at work. Thanks again, Will.”

Will threaded his fingers through hers and gave her hands a quick squeeze before giving her a kiss on the cheek that was so light she thought she imagined it. “Call me if you need anything, okay?”

She nodded and they said goodnight.

After waking up with the hangover from hell on Saturday morning, Mackenzie spent the rest of the weekend recovering. She didn’t see or hear from Will until the first rundown meeting on Monday morning. She wasn’t sure what to think of that, so she slid into a seat at the opposite end of the table and spent the entirety of the meeting chewing her lip and shooting glances at Will when he wasn’t looking.

When the meeting was over, Mackenzie scooped up her notes and high-tailed it back to her desk. She had busied herself with reading the overnight book when she saw Will approaching out of the corner of her eye.

“Hey, Mac,” he said casually. “How was the rest of your weekend?”

“It was…fine.”

“So, um, how much do you remember from Friday night?” he asked hesitantly.

She gulped. What had she done? She thought she remembered most of it, but… “Uh, I remember drinking _a lot_. I think I remember dancing on the bar with Rachel…” Will gave a quick nod and Mackenzie felt her face redden in embarrassment. “You helped me home; thank you again for that, by the way. And I think you kissed me?”

Will laughed lightly. “Well, you kissed me first; after I told you I think you’re spectacular, but yeah, I did initiate a kiss at some point.”

“Oh, right.” She blushed a little deeper and prayed for a perfectly timed news alert – a shooting, a tornado, a sex scandal, _anything_.

“I was thinking, now that you’re sober enough where I can trust your judgment, maybe you’d like to go out to dinner with me sometime?”

“ _Really_?” – he nodded – “Well, okay, sure. Yes, I’d love to.”

“Great. What about tomorrow night after the show?”

She nodded dumbly, watching as he beamed at her before reaching over to lightly squeeze her hand and walking away. Mackenzie turned back to the wire report she’d been reading and tried tamp down the excitement that was threatening to burst forth. _A night with Will McAvoy? Sure, why not?_

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
